Virtual synthesiser owner’s manual

This manual is copyright GForce Software Ltd 2014©. All rights reserved.
No part may be reproduced without permission. All trademarks are acknowledged.
INDEX
Arp Odyssey 4
Oddity to Oddity2 6
Odyssey Web Resources 7
Odyssey Book Resources 7
Thanks and Acknowledgements 7
Piracy 7
Legal Notice 7
Oddity2 Installation 8
Understanding Oddity2 9
Flying Sliders and Mouse Movements 9
Additional LFOs and ADSRs 9
Oddity2 Presets 10
Preset Categories 10
Oddity2 Controls and Sub Oscillator 11
Sub Oscillator 11
Pink/White Noise Switch 11
Transpose Switch 11
Portamento Slider 11
Pitch-Bend Range Selector 11
Proportional Pitch Control (PPC) 12
VCO Sub pitch control (orange) Coarse and Fine tune sliders 12
VCO1 13
Low Frequency or Keyboard Trigger switch 13
VCO1 pitch control (blue) Coarse and Fine tune sliders 13
Frequency Modulation (FM) slider (pink) and LFO ADSR or AR switch and slider to control amount
Modulation source switch. 13
Frequency Modulation slider (yellow) and S/H Mixer High-Pass Filter (HPF) 19
(Sample and Hold) or ADSR modulation source switch 13
Pulse Width slider (blue) 14
Pulse Width Modulation slider (pink) and
LFO sine wave or ADSR modulation source switch 14
2
VCO2 14
Sync On/Off switch 14
VCO2 pitch control (green) Coarse and Fine tune sliders 14
Frequency Modulation slider (pink) and LFO or S/H Mixer switch 15
Frequency Modulation slider (yellow) and
Sample/Hold or ADSR modulation source switch 15
Pulse Width slider (green) 15
Pulse Width modulation slider (pink) and LFO sine wave
or ADSR Modulation source switch 15
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) 16
LFO Frequency slider (pink) 16
Tempo LFO Sync On/Off switch 16
KYBD LFO Retrig On/Off switch 16
S/H MIxer (Sample and Hold) 16
Audio Mixer 17
Noise Generator or Ring Modulation source switch
and Audio Mixer slider (white) 17
VCO Sub Oscillator Sawtooth or Square Waveform switch
and Volume slider for Sub Oscillator Level (orange) 17
VCO1 Sawtooth or Square Waveform switch
and Volume slider for VCO1 Level (blue) 17
VCO2 Saw tooth or Square Waveform switch
and Volume slider for VCO2 Level (green) 17
Voltage Control Filter (VCF) 18
VCF Frequency slider (green) 18
VCF Resonance slider (green) 18
Oddity2 Filter Mode Switch 18
KYBD CV or S/H Mixer switch and Amount slider
of selected VCF source (black) 19
S/H or LFO Sine Wave switch and Amount slider
of selected VCF source (yellow) 19
of either ADSR or AR (red) 19
HPF Cutoff Frequency slider (black) 19
Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) 20 Additional Switches 24
VCA Gain slider (black) 20 A=440Hz tone switch 24
ADSR or AR switch and slider to control amount MIDI Panic Button 24
of ADSR or AR to VCA (red) 20 Hold 24

Envelope Generators (AR and ADSR) 20 Settings 25

AR Envelope Generator Attack slider (red) 20 LFO and X-ADSR Section 25
AR Envelope Generator Release slider (red) 20
ADSR Envelope Generator Attack slider (red) 21 X-LFO Controls 25
ADSR Envelope Generator Decay slider (red) 21 Waves 26
ADSR Envelope Generator Sustain slider (red) 21 LFO Amp Slider 26
ADSR Envelope Generator Release slider (red) 21 LFO Time Slider 26
Keyboard Gate Triggering or LFO Repeat switch for AR generator 21 LFO Delay Slider 26
Keyboard Gate Triggering or LFO Repeat switch for ADSR generator 21 LFO Sample & Hold Slider 26
Keyboard Repeat or Auto Repeat switch 21 LFO Smooth Slider 27
VCA and vcf Velocity sliders (purple) 21 LFO Sync Slider 27
Copy and Paste Buttons 27
Preset and Morph Section 22 X-ADSR Envelope 27
X-ADSR Amplitude Knob 27
Current Preset display 22
X-ADSR Velocity Knob 27
Morph Time knob and Morph Time display 22
X-ADSR Attack Slider 27
Ms/Beats Button 22
X-ADSR Decay Slider 28
Memorise Switch 22
X-ADSR Sustain Slider 28
Rename Button 22
X-ADSR Sustain Time Slider 28
Save Button 22
X-ADSR Release Slider 28
Load Button 22

About: Settings 23 Delay 28

Delay Amount Slider 28
Set Up 23
Delay Feedback Slider 28
Load 23
Delay Left and Right Sliders 28
Save 23
Autoload (undefined) 23 Output 29
Enhanced mouse mode 23
Level Slider 29
About: MIDI 23 Pan Mode Button 29
Spread Slider (Pan Wwidth) 29
Auto-Bind: Binding Parameters To MIDI CC’s 23
Un-bind 23 Default CCs 30
Selecting MIDI Devices 24

About: Audio unit 24

Audio Unit: Old Erroneous AU Automation 24

3
 Synth mythology tells it that back at the dawn of time, (well, at least the 1970’s), any
self-respecting keyboard player proudly displayed one of two synthesisers; the Minimoog
or the ARP Odyssey. Consequently, the debate as to which was the better instrument
ARP ODYSSEY raged as much back in the day as the analogue vs digital and Mac vs PC debates today.
Fortunately, to those more enlightened musicians of that period, and those who’ve
revisited these instruments in recent years, while it was clear there were distinct
differences between the tones and timbres of each, it’s impossible to claim an outright
winner as each excelled in their own areas. They were, quite simply, wonderfully different.
As self-certified Odyssey addicts we have our own theories as to why the Odyssey was
occasionally considered the poorer relation of the two.
Firstly and crucially, the name Moog is as synonymous with synthesisers as the name
Hoover is to vacuum cleaners.
Secondly there was cost. It’s easy to forget in these days of affordable plug-ins that
analogue synth technology was very expensive and in the majority of cases a keyboard
player was limited to one synth simply by budget constraints. A new Odyssey cost
$1500 in 1972; the equivalent to over $8000 today.
Thirdly, there were the operational differences between each synth, which were
undoubtedly influenced by both Pearlman and Moogs’ backgrounds.
Bob Moog had a firm grounding in electronic musical applications via his Theremin kits,
whereas ARP founder Alan R Pearlman, despite playing piano from the age of three,
came from a technical background that included designing amplifiers for the Apollo and
Gemini space programs. He is also on record as saying that the world of musicians was
alien to him, so perhaps that’s why the Minimoog had a musician-friendly feel about it,
while the Odyssey appeared on the surface to be more ‘techie’?
Certainly the Odyssey’s strangely calibrated, color-coded ‘tic-tac’ like sliders were not as
conducive to quick and accurate tweaking in the same way the Minimoog’s rotary knobs
were. With this control method, the techie-looking front panel and the obvious lack of patch
storage, it’s been noted more than once that it was almost impossible to get the same
sound twice - even with the aid of front panel overlays. To compound the issue, oscillator
tunings were marked in hertz and there was no A=440 tone as a tuning reference, which
ultimately meant that using an Odyssey live and changing sounds while keeping it in tune was
not for the fainthearted, as users such as Billy Currie and Chick Corea can no doubt attest.
Finally, there are the much-debated tonal differences. The Minimoog had three oscillators
and generally speaking, the more oscillators, the fatter the sound.
Because of the Odyssey’s two oscillators (plus a ring modulator) a myth was born whereby
Minimoog’s were big and fat and Odyssey’s were thin and bright. While there’s certainly
an element of truth in this, only the terminally idiotic would malign these differences. After
all, surely it’s these tonal distinctions and contrasts that account for why sounds from an
ARP, Moog, Sequential, Oberheim et al are as welcome and recognizable now as they
were in those halcyon days?

4

Opinions and speculation notwithstanding, the Odyssey sound combined with all its
unique and quirky attributes helped ARP create an instrument with such enormous
character that it quickly became a classic in its own right with artists as diverse as Joe
Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Jean-Michel Jarre, Gary Numan, Tom Costa,
Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, George Duke, Billy Currie, John Foxx, Dave Formula with
countless others embracing it wholeheartedly. Straying away from the world of rock and
pop for a moment, if you watched TV or saw any films in the 70’s you’ll also have heard
the famous ARP sound on Planet of the Apes, McCloud, Enter the Dragon, The Taking
of Pelham 1-2-3, as well as Columbo, Kojak and Cannon, courtesy of West Coast synth
wizards Clark Spangler and Jerry Goldsmith.
5
So what exactly was that sound? Well, anyone claiming it was exclusively thin and bright
must have had heavily retarded programming skills - edgy is perhaps a more suitable
adjective. But with minimal effort it’s easy to extract warm, fat tones too. However,
one area where the Odyssey stood head and shoulders over its rivals was when creating
sound effects. Wind, seashores, bombs, sirens and ‘sample and hold’ rhythms simply fall out
of this machine, and those with the patience to tinker and experiment were richly rewarded
with all manner of unique soundscapes that couldn’t have been achieved by many of Tom or
Bob’s babies. Additionally, the Odyssey had balls, bite and an aggressive quality which was
unparalleled and prompted long term Odyssey user Billy Currie to give it the honor of being
the first Punk synth delivering all the power and snarling attitude to cut through even the most
raucous Punk guitars.
But why isn’t the Odyssey seen as regularly as its rival on today’s stages and in today’s
studios?
Well, that could be about to change because, in what must rank as one of the most surprising
musical instrument industry statements of 2014, Korg announced plans to release a new
version of the Odyssey. However, as this is written, nothing has been released and so only the
original Odysseys exist and as such, these are what we refer to.
As a performance synth the Odyssey is inspiring but potentially problematic: Those sliders
have a habit of breaking and it’s becoming very difficult to find new replacements. When
gigging, its lack of A=440Hz tone is a real drawback and meant that changing sounds in real-
time was often traumatic; despite ARP’s oscillator stability being considered superior to early
Moogs. Finally, to add further confusion to prospective Odyssey hunters there were several
filter revisions across three variants, distinctive either by their white face, black face with gold
lettering or black face with orange lettering.
To this day there are still arguments as to which version is the best, but we won’t go into that
here as there are a host of web resources dedicated to this question and more. The truth
is that we own all versions and each have their own joys and foibles. However, we at GForce
Software, first fell in love with the Odyssey several years ago after buying a MkII (2813 with
PPC and a 4075 filter) in perfect condition.
Granted, the calibration of the sliders was an interesting contrast to most modern
synthesisers, but it had... that sound: that sharp, searing, yet funky tone which was once
described (admittedly by ARP themselves) as taking the ultimate musical trip.
If there’s one comparison with its rival where the Minimoog can claim a victory however,
it’s one regarding long-term reliability of knobs versus sliders. The unfortunate truth is that
ARP sliders don’t weather as well as Moog rotary knobs and unless the instrument is kept
in a hermetically sealed environment, dirt builds up over time and sliders become scratchy
and problematic. So with a few slider baths and replacements behind us, plus a series of
miscellaneous repairs, in 2001 we decided to embark on an extensive modeling job to take
that magnificent sound and superb, quirky operational architecture and turn it into software.
This task was painstaking and long but in December 2001 the Oddity was released. The
rest, as they say, is history.
ODDITY TO ODDITY2
The release of the original Oddity back in December 2001 caused quite a stir in many
ways, the first of which occurred when we announced the actual release date and
received a slightly hostile email from someone in the US stating “How dare you do this.
A lot of people were killed on that day”
Confused and obviously concerned, we looked up the date and found that our intended
day of release was Pearl Harbor Day. So we replied explaining that we meant no offence
but as a British company this date didn’t hold the same significance as it did in the US.
However, out of respect we changed the release date which then duly came and went
with fireworks of a celebratory kind.
Press and user reviews were very favourable and Oddity went on to win numerous
awards. However another stir occurred on a plug-ins forum when amongst a sea of
positive reviews, one particularly negative one stood out. Slightly disappointed but fully
aware that “you can’t please all the people all the time” we took note of the criticism
and moved on. Indeed the mystery of this reviewer was only revealed a year later when
exactly the same tone of review appeared on the impOSCar reviews section and after a
little bit of investigation it transpired that both reviews were written by a rival developer
under fake names. Once we had done the right thing and busted him publicly we started
to realize that there was probably a reason for this duplicity beyond a puerile attempt
at commercial sabotage.
Put simply, Oddity had a sound that made many other developers quake in their boots.
Those who chased the biggest sales by way of the biggest polyphonic synth emulations
underestimated the power, versatility and bite of such a seemingly simple monophonic
and duophonic synth. But, when Oddity started to grace a wealth of successful
commercial recordings, we believe they felt threatened so they retaliated in the ways
of the Wild West Web.
What successful commercial recordings? You may ask.
Well, the Stereophonic’s massive hit Dakota, happened as a result of the default patch,
80s Bass, underpinning the entire song from start to finish; as did Black Eyed Peas’ The
Time (Dirty Bit). Countless other iconic electronic music based bands from Nine Inch
Nails (Bite the Hand That Feeds), Ultravox (Rise) and Underworld (Between Stars) have
all used it to great effect throughout its lifetime. We chuckled when Underworld didn’t
even change the name of the interlude tracks based solely on the presets, Academic
Lead and Aggressive Lead for their award winning Frankenstein album.
In fact, if we’re honest, we’re still discovering tracks that have used it to this very day -
fitting testament to Oddity’s status as a bona fide classic software instrument.
All of this Oddity love was further enhanced when we received the following, completely
unsolicited email.
6
“Hi guys. My name is David Friend and I was a co-founder and president of ARP
Instruments and the lead designer of the original Odyssey.
Dave Mash at Berklee College bought me a copy of your software and we had a lot of
fun with it in his office today. You guys did a fantastic job of getting every detail right,
including incorporating some features that we couldn’t have even dreamed of at the time
(like memory).
One little known fact about the Odyssey is that there were actually two very different
voltage controlled filters used iin different production years. We started out with the
same 24db/octave VCF that Al Pearlman had designed for the ARP 2600, but it was a
little on the expensive side. Also, Bob Moog claimed that our filter design infringed on
one of his patents. About a year into production, we switched to a 12 db/octave VCF
that I had designed a few years prior. It changed the sound of the instrument, making
it brighter and more nasal-sounding. I came to really dislike that sound, so we came up
with a new and less expensive 24db/octave filter the next year. I would guess that 75%
of all the Odysseys built used the 24db/oct filter.
Anyway, a few keyboard players recognized the difference and actually had both versions
around. Steely Dan, for one, had both. That is, until one of them crapped out during a
recording session. They took it out back and ran over it with a truck then drove a spike
through it thus permanently affixing it to the wall of the Record Factory Studios in LA.
They called me at 2 in the morning so I could hear them banging the spike through the
instrument. Not what you want to hear, especially in the middle of the night. Anyway,
until I got your box, it was the thinnest Odyssey in the world.
The very first Odysseys were white and had wood sides. There weren’t a lot of those
made, maybe a few hundred.
The black one you use on the box was the mainstay production unit for two or three
years. Toward the late 70s, we replaced the pitch-bending knob with three pressure
sensitive pads for bending sharp, flat, and adding vibrato.
Over its lifetime, the Odyssey outsold the Minimoog by more than 2:1. The first
synthesiser to be sold in retail music stores was the ARP 2600, back in 1971, I believe.
I think I made the first sales call of a synthesiser manufacturer on a retail music store
-- Manny’s Music on 46th St. in New York. They threw me out, but later became the
biggest ARP dealer in the world.
By the way, the stability of the ARP VCOs was the result of simply brilliant analog design
by Al Pearlman. He is the best analog engineer I’ve ever met. Precisely compensating
for the temperature sensitive characteristics of a semiconductor junction is not easy,
and Al understood it far better than any of the engineers at Moog who had horrible
problems with stability.
Anyway, it certainly seemed strange when I first saw an instrument that I once had
on my drawing board turning up in museums. But having one completely emulated in
software is the really the ultimate! Thanks for this wonderful labor of love.”
David Friend (ARP co-founder and lead designer of the original Odyssey)
Oddity2 takes all of the character and sound from the Oddity and adds a plethora
of features requested by users as well as a soupçon of our own. Only features that
complement and allow the immediacy and beauty of the original Oddity to shine through
were considered for inclusion. Indeed, as one rather well known long-term user stated -
“Enhance it but don’t over-complicate it” and this was something we bore firmly in mind
throughout the update process.
We think the result is a significant upgrade to one of the world’s most characterful plug-
in instruments and in addition to Monophonic and Duophonic modes Oddity2 now offers
a Legato Mode and finally… can we have a drum roll for… Polyphony!
Three filter modes have also been included, each giving a taste of the different Odyssey
revisions. A Sub Oscillator. A two octave transpose switch as per the original instrument.
The ability to apply an independent LFO and ADSR to any of Oddity2 sliders. A delay
section. Note pan and spread controls. New PPC controls with a dedicated LFO. A
separate effects version. A way of quick saving Presets and, naturally, brand new livery
based on the final Odyssey revision.
We think Oddity2 is our most handsome looking instrument yet and the sounds that can
be coaxed from it are equally striking, ranging from the raucous chaos that the original
Odyssey and Oddity imparted, to either unbelievably lush or razor sharp polyphonic
sounds that give a glimpse of what might have been if technology had been a little more
advanced back in the day… or if ARP survived those turbulent years and released the
mythical Centaur.
Whether Oddity2 has the same impact on electronic music as the original Oddity is
entirely up to users. For our part, we know that, as with its first incarnation, Oddity2
has been a true labor of love. May it be as inspirational, controversial and as irritating
to others as its’ predecessor.
7
ODYSSEY WEB RESOURCES
A GForceSoftwareTV presentation on the Odyssey:
http://youtu.be/WsUn8t9_f9Q
www.sonicstate.com/synth/arpodyssey.cfm
http://www.arpodyssey.com
http://www.synthmuseum.com/arp/arpodyssey01.html
ODYSSEY BOOK RESOURCES
A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers (Part One. A - M) - Pete Forrest
Vintage Synthesisers - Mark Vail
THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alan R Pearlman, David Friend and all those responsible for the original Odyssey.
Laurent de Soras, Jérôme Noël, Raphaël Dingé, Franck Bacquet, Vincent Birebent,
Chris Cross, Billy Currie, Joel Friedman, Zach Lipkins, Karl Hyde, Brian Eno,
Rick Smith, Darren Price, Dean Coleman, Mathias Brussel, Alex Abajian,
Thomas Preine, Sean Charles, Jon Hodgson, Graeme Rawson, Andrew Schlesinger,
Paul Hurst, Antony Robinson, Dave Tozer, Matt Boardman, Jem Godfrey,
Gaetan Schurer, John Foxx, Jason Durbin, Mike Beck, Colin Bennett, Flemming Bloch,
Rob Lord, Robbie Bronnimann, Ben Burling, Lee Groves, Ron Millar, Russ Butterfield,
Michael Topic, Tim Dorney, Richard Hilton, Richard James, Matt Boardmann,
Alex Abajian, Alessandro Cortini.
Sound Design: Paul Hurst, Dave Spiers, Dave Blakely, Antony Robinson,
Mark Tinley, Graeme Rawson, Zach and Joel from Black Light Dinner Party, Andrew
Schlesinger, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Chris Macleod.
This Manual: Dave Spiers, Ian Legge and Chris Macleod.
PIRACY
If you have already purchased Oddity2, thank you. The revenue from sales of our
instruments is put back into creating exciting products that we feel are different to
those offered elsewhere. As users of musical software we’re not thrilled by having to
jump through too many hoops to get things working and that’s why we offer unobtrusive
copy protection for our instruments. However, we can only continue to do this if people
support our efforts by paying for the huge amount of work that goes into creating each
instrument.
LEGAL NOTICE
All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and
are in no way associated or affiliated with GForce Software Ltd.
ODDITY2 INSTALLATION

1. Run the installer.
 pen the Manual folder and copy the
O version, click on its icon.
Oddity2_Manual.pdf to your Hard Drive
Run the Oddity2 installer.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Accept the license agreement.
2. If you DO NOT want to install a particular
3. E nter your User Name and Key Code (serial
number) which you will have received via email.
These codes can also be found in ‘My Account’ at
http://www.gforcesoftware.com
 nce you have logged in, complete the process
O
and Quit the installer.

8
UNDERSTANDING ODDITY2
Although Oddity2 is not a true modular synth, it functions in a
very similar way. The key to understanding it is to consider each
section as a ‘module’ into which you feed another ‘source’ or
‘signal’. The color-coded sliders are also crucial to understanding
much of the internal routing and relationship between many of
the parameters.
For example, the Coarse and Fine tune sliders on VCO1 are
colored blue, so too is the slider that determines the amount
of VCO1 fed into the Audio Mixer. Additionally, provided the
waveform of VCO1 is switched to square wave, (set using
the switch underneath the blue VCO1 Audio Mixer slider), the
blue Pulse Width slider back in the VCO1 module becomes the
controller to change the Pulse Width.
To avoid confusion with the second oscillator you’ll notice that
the VCO2 Coarse and Fine tune sliders are colored green, as
are the appropriate matching Audio Mixer Level and Pulse Width
sliders. Once you get your head around these relationships,
operating Oddity2 becomes very intuitive.
ADDITIONAL LFOS AND ADSRS
It’s possible to assign an additional LFO and ADSR to any of
Oddity2’s slider parameters. This feature enables the instrument
to take on the characteristics of a modular synth but without the
clutter of patch cables. This powerful feature allows textures
and sounds to be programmed that would have been impossible
on both the Odyssey and original Oddity. It also removes the
limitation of both the Odyssey’s and Oddity’s single LFO which
would have to be shared between things such as filter and pulse
width modulation.
After an X-LFO or X-ADSR is allocated to an Oddity2 slider
parameter, the slider channel will illuminate blue when Amp
is applied in the X-LFO or the X-ADSR sections, the brighter
the blue illumination, the more X-LFO and/or X-ADSR amount
has been applied to the slider parameter (see the ‘X-LFO and
X-ADSR section’ for more details).

FLYING SLIDERS AND MOUSE

MOVEMENTS
Oddity2 allows you to ‘throw’ the sliders via the mouse. To throw
the slider from bottom to top, first position your mouse pointer
about half a centimeter above the slider ‘tic-tac’, directly over
the slider recess. Then, while holding the mouse button down,
drag the arrow along the slider recess releasing the mouse
button as you throw the slider upwards. You’ll see that the slider
moves until it reaches the very top. To throw a slider top from
top to bottom, reverse the process. All slider movements can
be recorded within your host application.
Oddity2 sliders also respond to horizontal mouse movements.
Placing the mouse pointer next to a slider ‘tic-tac’ and moving
it horizontally allows very precise changes in parameter values,
the exact value is shown in the Main Edit window.
Alternatively, you can simply double-click the Main Edit window
and type in the amount you require.

9
ODDITY2 PRESETS PRESET CATEGORIES
Oddity2 uses its own cross-platform file structure in the form of Preset Banks (.pbk). The default bank for Oddity2 contains what we feel are some of the highlights of the
These are interchangeable between Mac and PC and each Preset Bank (.pbk) contains instrument’s Preset library and gives an instant broad overview of what Oddity2 is
up to 64 Presets. You can morph between Presets in a Preset Bank. capable of. Presets in this default bank can also be found in their respective sections
There are two steps to saving your own sounds in this format. Firstly, you memorise the sound and each is catalogued as follows:
(Preset) to one of the 64 positions within a Preset Bank. Secondly, you SAVE THE ENTIRE
Preset Bank to your computer. For additional save methods see Preset Saving below. Bass Contains all those Odyssey-like bass Presets. Any Presets here that can
also be used as Lead sounds will have been included in the Lead section
Preset Saving Tutorial too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNi6c6T5T0s Bells & FX Contains useful sound effects and bell-like textures.
Saving Drums & Perc Contains Presets ranging from individual drum hits to useful percussive
elements.
1. Save Preset - ctrl + click on Save’: This saves a single Preset and allows the user
to name the saved preset. Duophonic While the Odyssey’s duophonic mode might now be viewed as a mere
stepping stone to polyphony, when used with the ring modulator, it’s
2. Quick Save Preset - shift/ctrl + click on Save: This saves a single Preset and the file possible to achieve some superbly aggressive tones and reveals why this
name is auto-generated with a time and date stamp. instrument was so loved by the Punk fraternity.
3. Save Bank - click on Save: Saves a full Preset Bank. Glides & Swell Sometimes you’ll be working and think “I could do with a swell sound at
Loading this point” and it’s here where you’ll find all manner of glides and swells
All files are loaded using the Load button. for this eventuality.
Oddity2 will load original Oddity pbks, allowing backwards compatibility with your own Horns & Contains various flutes, clarinets and the obligatory synth brass Presets.
Winds
Presets. If you have Oddity Presets saved in any other format (such as fxp, aupreset
& tfx) that you want to import into Oddity2, you are advised to resave them within Leads Presets useful for a variety of lead sounds.
Oddity to a pbk. Mono Monophonic Presets that don’t fall into the ‘Lead’ category.
Program Change Mono Due to the LFO features of Oddity2, it’s simple to create all manner of
Rhythmic rhythmic lines and motifs. These can be found here.
Each of the 64 Presets within a Preset Bank (,pbk) can be recalled sequentially via
a MIDI Program Change message. Any Preset recalled via a MIDI Program Change Mono Sync Contains Presets that utilise Oddity2’s hard-sync option. Please note
command will change immediately with morph settings being bypassed. that not all of these will be the usual sweeping sync sounds. You’ll also
find a wealth of sounds where the sync option has been used to highlight
Quick save tutorial harmonics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MASqU3dJXk&feature=youtu.be Pads & We love our pads and string Presets and with Oddity2’s polyphonic mode
Strings even we were surprised at just how versatile and lush sounding this
Preset Notes instrument can be.
Oddity2 contains over 1400 patches, many specifically created to take advantage of the Poly Keys Contains organ, electric piano and other keyboard instrument based
instrument’s new features. As you would expect, all preset banks (pbk) created on the Presets.
original Oddity can be imported into Oddity2 but edited versions of the original Oddity Poly Rhythmic Similar to the Mono Rhythmic section but using Oddity2’s polyphonic
patches are also included in Oddity2’s library. These can be recognised by an ‘- O2’ at capabilities.
the end of the patch name.
Polysynth Polysynth Presets.
For example, the default sound on the original Oddity was called ‘80s Bass’ whereas on
Oddity2 this is now in the Bass01.pbk and named ‘80s Bass - O2’ XFXAudioInput Presets for the FX version of Oddity2
Patches with the same names but ending in 01, 02 etc are good patches to morph
between. For example, in the Bass01.pbk you’ll see Bomber Bass 01 followed by Bomber
Bass 02, right up to Bomber Bass 04. Each of these patches are variations on a theme
and morphing between them will work well.

10
ODDITY2 CONTROLS AND SUB OSCILLATOR PINK/WHITE NOISE SWITCH

Useful for creating wind and thunder noises and adding ‘grit’ to drum
sounds or even pads, Oddity2 offers two noise options.
1. White noise. This contains all the frequencies in the audio spectrum in
equal amounts.
2. Pink noise. This is filtered white noise which reduces volume by 6 dB
per octave. This results in a noise that has equal energy at
every octave and generally makes pink noise more useful
in musical terms because it doesn’t sound too low and
rumbling nor too high and hissy.

TRANSPOSE SWITCH

This switch globally transposes the instrument up or down two octaves.

NB: If you use excessive Filter/Keyboard tracking via the Black KYBD/CV
Slider, sounds played in either the lower or upper transposition may be
considerably louder or quieter than the normal position. If this is the case
simply adjust the KYBD/CV Slider towards a 50% value.
(Billy Currie and others used this extensively on the Odyssey by quickly
flicking between the normal and two-octave up positions during solos).
SUB OSCILLATOR
PORTAMENTO SLIDER
This is a standard oscillator with control over Coarse and Fine frequency. While we
have called it a Sub Oscillator, to separate it from the main two VCOs, in truth it’s not Determines the amount of ‘glide’ between one note and the next played.
a true sub oscillator because it works across the same pitch range as VCO’s 1 & 2. Ranges between zero and 3000 milliseconds.
However, with limited control and no Pulse Width modulation, we decided to refer to
this as a Sub Oscillator. Oddity2’s glide is slightly different to that of Oddity as it slows down a
little when reaching the destination pitch.
The waveform for this is selected in the Audio Mixer Section underneath the Orange
Slider.
If you think of this Sub Oscillator as reinforcement for VCO1 and VCO2, you won’t go
wrong.
PITCH-BEND RANGE SELECTOR

Selects the amount of semitones that the pitch-bend wheel works across
(switchable between 1 and 24 semitones).

11
PROPORTIONAL PITCH CONTROL (PPC) VCO SUB PITCH CONTROL (ORANGE) COARSE AND FINE TUNE SLIDERS

On early Odyssey versions an unsprung pitch wheel was used to introduce pitch bend. The Coarse tune slider covers a range of six octaves and
The concept was simple enough. If you wanted to bend a note upwards you rotated the Fine tune slider has a range of + or - one semitone.
the knob clockwise. If you wanted to bend a note down, you turned the pitch knob anti When tuning Oddity2 use the Coarse tune slider to find
clockwise. the approximate range before using the Fine tune for more
Mid way through production of black and gold MkII versions (on which the original precision.
Oddity was modeled) this changed to Proportional Pitch Control (PPC). PPC consisted
of three rubber pads. Pressing the left pad introduced a downward pitch bend and
the harder you pressed the more the note decreased in pitch. The right pad bent the
note upwards in the same manner. The middle pad introduced vibrato and, again, the
harder you pressed the more vibrato was introduced. The vibrato rate was always at
the rate determined by the setting of the single LFO and was a major limitation of the Sub Oscillator Tutorial
instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIZXDoBXb8
To overcome this limitation, Oddity2 has a dedicated
Pitch LFO. The slider determines the rate at which
pitch modulation occurs and, with the default
settings, the mod wheel on your controller keyboard
changes the depth of modulation. The amount of pitch
modulation is indicated by a horizontal green light
underneath the PPC controls.

The amount of pitch bend applied is indicated by two

vertical green lights next to the or PPC Pads.

PPC & Pitch Modulation Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG46THZ2N9U

12
VCO1
LOW FREQUENCY OR KEYBOARD TRIGGER SWITCH
This is normally set to AUDIO KYBD ON to allow you to trigger VCO1
via the keyboard. However, selecting LF KYBD OFF lowers the frequency
of VCO1 to below the human hearing range. When a note is played
you’ll hear a clicking sound instead of a tone, the speed of which can be
changed by adjusting the (blue) Coarse and Fine tuning sliders. With LF
KYBD OFF, VCO1 can be used as a second LFO via the S/H module.
VCO1 PITCH CONTROL (BLUE) COARSE AND FINE TUNE SLIDERS
The first slider controls the Coarse tuning and covers a range
of six octaves. The second determines the Fine tuning which
has a range of + or - one semitone.
This is unlike many other synths that used knobs with fixed
increments from which to select pre-defined octaves.
13
FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM) SLIDER (PINK)
AND LFO MODULATION SOURCE SWITCH
The pink FM slider governs the depth of pitch modulation introduced
by either of the two waveforms selected by the switch underneath.
With the switch set to the upper position the LFO is set to a sine
wave and altering the pink FM slider introduces a greater or lesser
vibrato depth.
With the switch set to the square wave, moving the slider will
modulate VCO1 between the note played on the keyboard and a
second note. Moving the slider will alter the pitch of the second
note up to a maximum of one octave. Using this, it’s easy to create
an effect similar to that of a trill. Use the LFO Freq slider (pink) to
change the speed of the trill.
FREQUENCY MODULATION SLIDER (YELLOW) AND S/H MIXER
(SAMPLE AND HOLD) OR ADSR MODULATION SOURCE SWITCH
T he yellow FM slider governs the depth of pitch modulation
introduced by one of two sources selected by the switch
underneath. With the switch set to the upper position, the pitch of
VCO1 is modulated by the output of the S/H Mixer (or Sample and
Hold Mixer).
For an example of how this works:
• Raise the blue slider in the S/H Mixer to the top.
• Select VCO1 square wave with the switch underneath.
• Open the yellow slider in the VCO1 module making sure you’ve
selected S/H on the switch underneath.
What you should hear now is a series of different random pitches, the speed of
which is determined by the pink LFO Freq slider. Try changing the S/H Mixer source
underneath the blue slider from VCO1 Square Wave to VCO1 Sawtooth and listen to
the difference.
Changing the switch position from S/H to ADSR allows the ADSR envelope generator
contour to modulate the pitch of VCO1. The depth of this modulation is determined by
the yellow slider.
One of the tricks in fattening up the sound is to open this slider a little and then
compensate for the resulting change in pitch by re-tuning VCO1. This way it’s possible
to introduce very subtle pitch modulation.
PULSE WIDTH SLIDER (BLUE) VCO2
The square wave on Oddity2 can also be turned into a variable pulse wave
with the help of the Pulse Width slider. You’ll notice that this slider is
marked between 50% and minimum. The normal square wave at 50%
has a ‘hollow’ sound to it. However, when you move the slider towards the
minimum mark, as the pulse becomes thinner, the sound becomes more
‘buzzy’.
 lay a note and move the Pulse Width slider up and down and you’ll hear
P
the difference.

PULSE WIDTH MODULATION SLIDER (PINK) AND LFO SINE

WAVE OR ADSR MODULATION SOURCE SWITCH

You can also modulate the pulse width with either an LFO-generated sine
wave, or by the Envelope Generator. With the switch set to ADSR it’s
possible to sweep the pulse width via the ASDR Envelope Generator in
much the same way you would sweep the filter. Alternatively, if you select
the sine wave, the pulse width will modulate according to the depth set
by the Pulse Width Modulation slider and the speed of the LFO Frequency SYNC ON/OFF SWITCH
slider (pink).
With this switch in the OFF position VCO2 behaves in the same manner
as VCO1 and contains largely the same controls and functions. However,
when this switch is changed to ON this phase synchronises VCO2 to VCO1.
Regardless of whether the selected waveform shape is sawtooth or square,
Sync forces the waveform of VCO2 to restart whenever VCO1 is triggered.
PWM Tricks Tutorial The resulting effect is that the harmonic sound of VCO2 will change as the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAP9ATKYWFM Coarse and Fine Tune sliders for this oscillator are altered.

VCO2 PITCH CONTROL (GREEN) COARSE AND FINE TUNE SLIDERS

The VCO2 Frequency sliders behave in exactly the same way

as the VCO1 Frequency sliders. The first slider controls the
Coarse tuning and covers a range of six octaves. The second
determines the Fine tuning which has a range of about one
tone. If you want to ‘fatten’ up a sound using two oscillators,
try tuning the first one slightly sharp and the second one
slightly flat.

Oscillator Sync Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWzfcOHV-s

14
FREQUENCY MODULATION SLIDER (PINK) PULSE WIDTH MODULATION SLIDER (PINK) AND LFO SINE
AND LFO OR S/H MIXER SWITCH WAVE OR ADSR MODULATION SOURCE SWITCH

As per VCO1, the pink FM slider governs the depth of pitch modulation You can modulate the pulse width of VCO2 with either an LFO generated
introduced by either of the two waveforms selected by the switch sine wave, or by the ADSR Envelope Generator as per VCO1.
underneath. With the switch set to the upper position the LFO is set to a
sine wave and altering the pink FM slider introduces a greater or lesser
vibrato depth. With the switch set to S/H Mixer you can use the slider to
introduce the settings as specified in the S/H Mixer Module.

FREQUENCY MODULATION SLIDER (YELLOW) AND

SAMPLE/HOLD OR ADSR MODULATION SOURCE SWITCH

In the same way as with VCO1, the yellow FM slider governs the depth
of pitch modulation introduced by one of two sources determined by the
switch underneath. With the switch set to the upper position the pitch of
VCO2 is modulated by a source in accordance with the S/H Mixer. With
the switch in ADSR position, the ADSR envelope generator contour now
modulates the pitch of VCO2.

PULSE WIDTH SLIDER (GREEN)

Again, as per VCO1, the square wave of VCO2 can be turned into variable
pulse waves via the Pulse Width slider. Try tuning both oscillators to the
same octaves and then setting different pulse widths for VCO1 and VCO2.

15

LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR (LFO)
LFO FREQUENCY SLIDER (PINK)
This slider controls the rate or speed of the main LFO.
The LFO outputs both sine and square waveforms.
The Sinewave helps produce vibrato effects while the Squarewave
is useful for things such as trills. The LFO can also be routed to the
Envelope Generators via the ADSR and AR repeat switches.
TEMPO LFO SYNC ON/OFF SWITCH
The LFO can be synchronised to the host tempo by switching this ON. With
it ON, moving the pink LFO slider allows you to choose one of several LFO
templates including: 1/4 beat, 1/3 beat, 1/2 beat, 1 beat, 10 beat etc...
The value of your LFO template is indicated in the Main Edit window. If a
different value to the ones given by the slider are required, use horizontal
mouse movements for fine adjustment or enter the required
value manually in the Main Edit window.
In the OFF position the LFO rate is set using the pink LFO slider
and its value can be seen in the Main Edit window in Hz.
16
KYBD LFO RETRIG ON/OFF SWITCH
When set to the ON position, the LFO is retriggered each time a key
is pressed. Although this is the same as on the original instrument,
occasionally it’s useful to switch this function OFF, particularly when
the LFO is intended to slowly modulate the sound over a long musical
passage. As such, changing the position to OFF allows the LFO to
continue without being retriggered by a note-on event.
S/H MIXER (SAMPLE AND HOLD)
The only two sliders on Oddity2 that don’t have
dedicated names are the blue and white sliders
within the S/H Mixer module. However, underneath
each slider is a switch that gives us an indication
as to what’s being fed into this module. Underneath
the blue slider, the switch marked VCO1 indicates
Sawtooth or Squarewave.
Underneath the white slider is a switch that
indicates Noise Generator (Pink or White as
selected in the Noise Generator) or VCO2
Squarewave. As with similar functions on Oddity2,
these switches govern what is fed into the S/H
Mixer and the sliders apply the relative amount.
This is one of Oddity2’s more complex sections.
Spending time experimenting with this can lead to
some unexpected and inspiring sounds; from grainy
through to metallic, to full-on syncopated funk grooves.
In basic technical terms, the signals from the blue and white sliders are mixed together
to produce the “S/H Mixer” output. This is an audio signal which then enters the S/H
module. This module samples a value from the S/H Mixer output at LFO rate, (or
keyboard events if this is selected by the switch marked LFO Trig at the top and KYBD
Trig at the bottom). It gives random steps, which are ‘smoothed’ by the Lag Parameter
(yellow slider) acting a bit like portamento or ‘glide’. This becomes the ‘S/H’ output.
The difference between S/H and S/H Mixer is the rate of the changes. S/H is a
slow modulation, whereas S/H Mixer modulates the signal at audio rate. Applied to
the Oscillator Frequency, it produces analog-based FM sounds, not dissimilar to a
Yamaha DX-7 operator (although the DX-7 is digital and uses Phase Modulation,
not Frequency Modulation). Applied to the Filter Cutoff the result is less obvious but
interesting nonetheless.
S&H Lag Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mABKPZYH80
AUDIO MIXER VCO SUB OSCILLATOR SAWTOOTH OR SQUARE WAVEFORM SWITCH
AND VOLUME SLIDER FOR SUB OSCILLATOR LEVEL (ORANGE)

Use this switch to select the basic waveform for the Sub Oscillator before
using the orange slider to apply the level of the Sub VCO sent into the Audio
Mixer.

VCO1 SAWTOOTH OR SQUARE WAVEFORM SWITCH

AND VOLUME SLIDER FOR VCO1 LEVEL (BLUE)

Use this switch to select the basic waveform for VCO1 before using the blue
slider to apply the level of VCO1 sent into the Audio Mixer.

NOISE GENERATOR OR RING MODULATION SOURCE

SWITCH AND AUDIO MIXER SLIDER (WHITE)

This switch selects either Noise (white or pink) or Ring Modulation with the
white slider being used to feed the appropriate level into the Audio Mixer.
Ring Modulation
Along with the S/H Modules, the Ring Modulator is one of Oddity2’s more
esoteric features. The Ring Modulator inter-modulates VCO1 and VCO2 and
produces a single complex waveform that contains the sums and differences VCO2 SAW TOOTH OR SQUARE WAVEFORM SWITCH
AND VOLUME SLIDER FOR VCO2 LEVEL (GREEN)
of the two oscillator frequencies. Experiment with applying different VCO
tunings, pulse width and sync settings to create a host of tones such as In the same way as with VCO1, use this switch to select the basic waveform
bells, chimes, gongs, metallic and percussive sounds. for VCO2 and using the green slider apply the required level of VCO2 into the
A favorite musical use of the Ring Modulator is to set up a lead or bass Audio Mixer.
sound with the ring mod slider also opened. Make sure the sound is set to duophonic
mode but when playing, use it monophonically. Now, by adding an occasional second
note (fifth’s work well), you’ll get some neat harmonic overtones and distorted
textures.

17
VOLTAGE CONTROL FILTER (VCF)
ODDITY2 FILTER MODE SWITCH

VCF FREQUENCY SLIDER (GREEN)
Arguably the most commonly used parameter on any synth, this changes
timbre by subtracting frequencies and harmonics by moving the slider
down from its top position.
During its lifetime the Odyssey underwent three main filter revisions.
In Oddity2 we have included versions of all three filters to give you
the widest Odyssey soundscape possible and to provide a taste of the
variations of each revision of this legendary instrument.
4075: The 24dB filter that replaced the 4035 and the one found on
the majority of Mk2 and Mk3 Odysseys. Legend has it that there was
a mathematical error that limited the upper frequencies of these to
around 12-14KHz. There was also a simple cure for this issue though
and it was this cure that was used on our Odyssey, which in turn
became the model for the original Oddity.
4035: The alledgedly ‘Moog-infringing’ filter! We’re not going to add any further fuel
to the fire except to say that the 4035 is a 24dB ladder filter smilar to that found in
the Minimoog.
4023: This filter was used in the early ‘whiteface’ Odysseys and is a 12dB filter
more akin to that found on the Oberheim SEM than anything ARP or Moog. While
retaining the 2-pole 12dB element, Oddity2’s version of this filter is slightly different
in that we’ve added a bit of grit to its tone and also backed-off the resonance to avoid
self-oscillation. This is because both the 4035 and 4075 self-oscillate with their own
characteristics. Our 4023 is a little more ‘creamy’ without attenuating the bottom end
at high resonance as much as the other two modes.

Filter Modes Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okugStwFXbA

VCF RESONANCE SLIDER (GREEN)

Adds emphasis at the cutoff point and causes the filter to ‘self-oscillate’ when
pushed towards the top of its range. (See opposite >)

18
KYBD CV OR S/H MIXER SWITCH AND AMOUNT HIGH-PASS FILTER (HPF)
SLIDER OF SELECTED VCF SOURCE (BLACK)

This switch selects between Keyboard CV (Tracking) and the S/H Mixer.
Selecting Keyboard CV and feeding this signal into the VCF via the black slider,
allows you to vary the keyboard tracking as it relates to the filter.
Choosing a slider position towards the bottom of the scale opens the filter
more on the lower keys of your keyboard and decreases this effect as you play
up the keyboard. Setting a slider position towards the top of the scale has the
opposite effect.
Selecting S/H Mixer and feeding this signal into the VCF in conjunction with the
S/H Mixer module sliders, allows for various effects as outlined in the Sample
and Hold section.

S/H OR LFO SINE WAVE SWITCH AND AMOUNT

SLIDER OF SELECTED VCF SOURCE (YELLOW)

This switch selects between Sample and Hold and a Sinewave LFO source.
Selecting S/H and feeding this signal into the VCF allows you to apply the
sample and hold effect, as governed by the waveform shapes selected and
applied in the S/H Mixer, to the VCF. HPF CUTOFF FREQUENCY SLIDER (BLACK)
Selecting LFO allows you to apply a sinewave to the filter and modulate it at a
speed determined by the LFO Frequency. Use this slider to remove low frequencies thus creating thinner
sounding textures. When used in conjunction with the VCF Freq slider
it’s possible to create band-pass filter sounds.

ADSR OR AR SWITCH AND SLIDER TO CONTROL

AMOUNT OF EITHER ADSR OR AR (RED)

Oddity2 has two Envelope Generators which can be used to shape either the
VCF or VCA. Here it’s possible to assign either to the VCF and use the red
slider to feed varying amounts of the selected envelope generator to the VCF.

19
VOLTAGE CONTROLLED AMPLIFIER (VCA) ENVELOPE GENERATORS (AR AND ADSR)

VCA GAIN SLIDER (BLACK)

AR ENVELOPE GENERATOR ATTACK SLIDER (RED)
Used to add additional gain to the signal path and particularly useful for
boosting level after overzealous use of the High-pass Filter. It’s also worth Used to alter the Attack time of the AR Envelope Generator.
noting that with the Low-pass Filter open, or partially open, increasing the
VCA Gain can cause a sound to sustain continuously.

ADSR OR AR SWITCH AND SLIDER TO CONTROL

AMOUNT OF ADSR OR AR TO VCA (RED)
AR ENVELOPE GENERATOR RELEASE SLIDER (RED)
As explained in the VCF section, Oddity2 has two envelope generators
either of which can be assigned to the VCF or VCA. Here we select one for Used to alter the Release time of the AR Envelope Generator.
the VCA and use the red slider to adjust the amount.

20
ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATOR ATTACK SLIDER (RED) KEYBOARD GATE TRIGGERING OR LFO REPEAT
SWITCH FOR AR GENERATOR
Used to alter the Attack time of the ADSR Envelope Generator.
When set to KYBD Gate this allows a keyboard event to trigger the AR
Envelope Generator. When set to Repeat the AR Envelope Generator is
triggered by the LFO. As you would expect, the pink LFO Frequency slider
can alter the speed of the LFO triggering.

KEYBOARD GATE TRIGGERING OR LFO REPEAT

ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATOR DECAY SLIDER (RED)
SWITCH FOR ADSR GENERATOR
Used to alter the Decay time of the ADSR Envelope Generator.
When set to KYBD Gate, a keyboard event will trigger the ADSR Envelope
Generator. When set to LFO Repeat the ADSR Envelope Generator is
triggered by the LFO. The pink LFO Frequency slider can alter the speed of
the LFO triggering.

KEYBOARD REPEAT OR AUTO REPEAT SWITCH

ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATOR SUSTAIN SLIDER (RED)
Used to alter the Sustain level of the ADSR Envelope Generator.
When LFO Repeat is selected on the adjacent switch, selecting KYBD
Repeat allows the sound to be continuously re-triggered for the duration
the note is pressed. However when set to AUTO Repeat, it will sound
continuously regardless of whether a key is pressed. Again the speed of
the re-triggering depends on the LFO frequency slider.

VCA AND VCF VELOCITY SLIDERS (PURPLE)

ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATOR RELEASE SLIDER (RED) Use these sliders to apply varying degrees of keyboard
velocity response to VCA and VCF dynamics.
Used to alter the Release time of the ADSR Envelope Generator.

21
PRESET AND MORPH SECTION
This section enables you to manage your patch (or Preset) settings. A Preset bank
(.pbk) consists of 64 Preset locations and in this section you memorise and name your
Presets before saving the entire Preset Bank to your hard disk.
CURRENT PRESET DISPLAY
The red lettering of the display indicates the name of the currently
selected Preset. Clicking on this part of the display opens a list of
64 Presets.
MORPH TIME KNOB AND MORPH TIME DISPLAY
A special feature of Oddity2 is its ability to ‘Morph’ between two
Presets. Morph Time is the transition-time it takes the sliders
(parameter values) to move from their current position to the
ones of the next Preset.
The Morph Time knob enables you to vary the time taken to go
from the Current Preset to the next Preset selected via the
Preset drop-down menu. The morph time is measured in milliseconds or beats (depending on
your selection with the Ms/Beats button) and is displayed in the adjacent box. The defaults time
is 0 seconds or beats but you can change the transition length up to 99 seconds or 198 beats.
The sonic possibilities of this section are almost endless. For example, you can
Morph between mellow and aggressive versions of the same sound, or Morph
between radically different sounds and create extreme transitions, Morphing is
activated as soon as the new Preset is selected in the Preset drop-down list. You
can also morph between adjacent Presets using the Preset up/down arrows.
Patch Morph Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-lmEdrfzw
22
MS/BEATS BUTTON
Morph times can be in milliseconds or beats. Beats make it easier to
sync morph times to the tempo of your host or DAW. However, when
using milliseconds the X-LFO and X-ADSR are no longer synchronized to
your host tempo. This means it’s possible to create Presets with X-LFO
and X-ADSR modulation that do not change if you alter your host’s tempo.
MEMORISE SWITCH
To memorise a Preset, move the Memorise button to its lower
position. Click on the Preset name and navigate to one of the 64 Preset
allocations to temporarily store it. To permanently store a Preset,
it must be saved as part of a Preset Bank. (see Save Button section
below)
To recall a Preset, make sure the Memorise button is off (or in the upper position).
Now, click on the Preset name and select one of the 64 Presets you want to recall.
RENAME BUTTON
This relates to the currently selected Preset and allows you to rename it.
NB: If you rename any Preset within a Preset Bank (.pbk) you must save
that Preset Bank (.pbk) in order to retain that new name.
SAVE BUTTON
Allows you to save all Presets within a Preset Bank (.pbk) permanently
to your hard disk.
For Quick-Save, see page 10.
Preset Saving Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNi6c6T5T0s
LOAD BUTTON
Used to load Preset Banks (.pbk) from your computer
ABOUT: SETTINGS ABOUT: MIDI
SET UP

Clicking on the Set Up button reveals a drop down menu with AUTO-BIND: BINDING PARAMETERS TO MIDI CC’S
a number of options listed:
Although each parameter of Oddity2 has its own pre-assigned MIDI CC number (see
page 29), the easiest way to link a parameter to a specific MIDI CC (knob, slider, etc.)
is to use the Auto-Bind feature.
To use this, click on the Set Up button and enter the Auto-Bind mode by checking MIDI
> Auto-bind in the Setup menu.
You will immediately notice a series of
boxes appear over each Oddity2 parameter.
Within these boxes are the default MIDI CC
numbers used to control those parameters
via your external controller.
To change these CC numbers simply
click inside the box associated with the parameter you wish to change and type the
appropriate MIDI CC number via your QWERTY keyboard.
LOAD
Alternatively, move the required slider or switch on Oddity2 and then turn or move the
L oads previously saved Auto-bind configuration files physical controller you wish to control that slider or switch. This sends the MIDI CC to
(.cfg.txt). the Oddity2 and as soon as the CC event is received, the assignment is made and this
See SAVE below. will remain ‘bound’ to the parameter.

SAVE To save your MIDI CC configuration click on the Set Up button and select Save.
Saved configurations can be automatically recalled every time you launch Oddity2 by
 se this to save your own Auto-bind configuration files
U selecting a saved configuration file via the Set Up > ‘Autoload’ option.
(.cfg.txt). For more information on Auto-bind please
see below and Binding parameters to MIDI continuous To close the Auto-Bind mode simply un-check it in the Set Up menu and all your
control messages. (MIDI CC’s) previously bound MIDI CC’s will control the relevant parameters.
AUTOLOAD (UNDEFINED) UN-BIND

Use this to automatically load one of your previously If you need to unbind a previously bound Oddity2
saved Auto-bind configuration files (.cfg.txt). parameter, simply move the slider or switch
you wish to unbind and then tick this. It will
ENHANCED MOUSE MODE immediately reset that parameter so that there
is no MIDI CC assigned to it.
Selecting this mode makes the mouse cursor
disappear when a slider is moved. It’s more
comfortable for editing because it allows you to move the sliders accurately despite
their small size. There is an option to deactivate this mode because it may not work
correctly with some trackballs and graphic tablets on Mac.

23
SELECTING MIDI DEVICES ADDITIONAL SWITCHES


Depending on your host, your MIDI devices and your system settings, you may have
one or more available MIDI ports for input and for output. It is possible to select the
virtual ports for receiving and sending MIDI events.
To choose the input port (the one on which MIDI data is received by the plug-in),
go to the MIDI>Input device menu and select the one you want. Similarly, to select
the output port, simply go to MIDI>Output device and select the one you want. The
selected MIDI ports will now have a tick against them.
NB: It is possible to choose only one MIDI port for input and one for output.
ABOUT: AUDIO UNIT A=440HZ TONE SWITCH
AUDIO UNIT: OLD ERRONEOUS AU AUTOMATION
A useful reference tone for tuning the oscillators.
 For some bizarre reason this was not included on the original Odyssey.

This option exists for historical reasons. Old Oddity versions used to interpret RPN
and NRPN controls incorrectly and, consequently, automation recorded using old
versions cannot be interpreted by the newer versions unless this option is checked. MIDI PANIC BUTTON
If you are a new GForce user leave this unchecked.
Got the odd hanging note? Even in the wonderful world of MIDI it happens
occasionally - so when it does, hit the panic button and all should be cured.

HOLD

For use with the Effects Version of Oddity2.

 nce the Effects version is opened, activate the Hold button and press a note.
O
The note will be held and will now allow the routed audio to pass through the
instrument and be affected by various Oddity2 functions such as the filters and
envelopes.
Consult your DAW or host software for how to route audio to effects. There are several
Oddity2 Presets, custom made for processing external audio and these can be found in
the XFXAudioInput.pbk

24
SETTINGS
Oddity2 allows a choice between the following keyboard modes:
Polyphonic. Oddity2 can play up to 32 notes simultaneously when in Poly mode.
The maximum polyphony can be set within the Polyphony Window.
NB: The higher the polyphony count, the higher the load on your computer’s CPU.
Therefore it is always advisable to set the polyphony count to suit your playing needs.
The original Odyssey was duophonic and allowed the user to play a maximum of 2
notes simultaneously. Oddity2 now provides multiple triggering options. When the
Poly option is selected we can finally hear what an Odyssey would have sounded like
had it been able to play chords!
Monophonic. When active, this enables the user to play one note at a time with
each played note re-triggering the envelope generators.
Duophonic. This allows up to two notes to be played simultaneously. Playing one
note will trigger both VCO1 and VCO2 but if that note is held while a second note is
played higher than the held note, the held note will latch to VCO1 and the second note
will trigger VCO2. If the second note is played lower than the held note, the held note
will trigger VCO2 and any subsequent second notes will trigger VCO1.
With each note-off, any held notes are retriggered and both VCO1 and VCO2 will play.
Legato. In legato mode you avoid retriggering the envelope generators each time a
new note is played provided you play a new note before the first note is released. This
was a classic playing technique with instruments such as the Minimoog and has been
incorporated in Oddity2 due to the expression this allows the user to impart.
Duo & Ring Mod Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7WyBvZuqvc
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LFO AND X-ADSR SECTION
Use this section to apply an independent X-LFO and/or X-ADSR to almost any of
Oddity2’s main instrument slider parameters. First click on the slider ‘tic-tac’ for the
parameter that you wish to modulate, then apply an X-LFO amount via the X-LFO Amp
slider and/or an X-ADSR amount via the Amp knob.
There is almost no limit to the amount of separate X-LFOs and X-ADSRs you can
apply and by using the Copy and Paste buttons it’s easy to apply the same settings to
different parameters. However, you cannot apply an X-LFO or X-ADSR to switches.
NB: When the Ms/Beats button in the Morph Time Control section is set to ‘Beats’
all X-LFO and X-ADSR controls are synchronized to host tempo and all time-based
parameters are given in beats. When the Ms/Beats button is set to ‘Ms’ X-LFO and
X-ADSR controls are not synchronized to host tempo and all time-based parameters
are given in milliseconds.
X-ADSR Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFevAh6UPWw
X-LFO CONTROLS
T his section provides control over the X-LFO
parameters and waveforms. Whenever an
Oddity2 slider parameter is being affected by an
additional X-LFO it will glow blue. A brighter blue
illumination indicates that the parameter has a
greater amount of X-LFO and/or X-ADSR applied.
X-LFO Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDbqgDOdtQ
WAVES LFO AMP SLIDER

There are 10 X-LFO waveforms. These are selected by clicking on the appropriate This determines the overall amount, or amplitude, of the X-LFO.
waveform button. The waveforms are as follows: 0% means that the X-LFO does not modulate the selected slider parameter.

1) Sine - The default waveform. As soon as X-LFO Amp is assigned to an Oddity2 slider parameter and a
degree of Amplitude is applied it will glow blue, indicating that it is now being
modulated.
2) Triangle - A waveform with a linear transition between maximum
and minimum (and vice versa).

LFO TIME SLIDER

3) Ramp Up - The waveform goes linearly from the minimum point
to the maximum point.
4) Ramp Down - Like Ramp up, but in the other direction.
Determines the speed of the X-LFO waveform, ranging between 1/64th of a
beat and 256 beats, or 0.0078 to 128.00 milliseconds, depending on the
status of the Ms/Beats button.

5) Cosine Up - A bit like Ramp up, but the LFO rises more gently
at the extreme points (a kind of shelf).

LFO DELAY SLIDER

6) Cosine Down - Like Cosine up, but in the other direction.
7) Square - The LFO stays a half-period at the maximum point,
then the other half-period at the minimum point.
Sets a delay before the X-LFO setting becomes effective. The delay time
ranges between 0 and 256 Beats or 0 to 128.00 milliseconds, depending on
the status of the Ms/Beats button.

8) Random - This waveform is a chaotic oscillator. It is based on a

sine wave, sometimes slowing down, sometimes accelerating, or even
going back and forth. These random variations always keep the same
average phase. LFO SAMPLE & HOLD SLIDER
9) Brown Noise - The LFO value changes randomly, combining Adds a random element to an X-LFO waveform by Sampling and Holding
wide and slow moves with small and fast oscillations. With a very long specific points of it. The higher the slider value, the longer the Sample & Hold
period, this kind of LFO is perfect to give a parameter a natural and period, the lower the slider value, the quicker the Sample & Hold period.
nervous random variation.

10) Red Noise - A bit like Brown Noise, but fast variations
are more damped, giving even smoother random movements.

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LFO SMOOTH SLIDER X-ADSR ENVELOPE

This allows you to smooth out fast transitions of an X-LFO signal and is These controls allow envelope
applied after the Sample & Hold. The smoothing factor is scaled to the main shaping of any slider parameter.
X-LFO Time and therefore the final shape doesn’t change when the Time is
changed.
0% disables the smoothing and leaves the waveform untouched.

Subtle Pitch Modulation Tutorial

LFO SYNC SLIDER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsx1ebJ2CIU
This allows the X-LFO phase to be reset at every Note On. The phase value
will be the indicated percentage. You can turn the Sync off and allow the X-ADSR AMPLITUDE KNOB
X-LFO to free run by moving the slider all the way to its top position, marked
Off. With positive and negative values, this knob determines the amplitude
depth of the X-ADSR Envelope.

X-ADSR VELOCITY KNOB

COPY AND PASTE BUTTONS With both positive and negative values, this knob determines how velocity
affects the X-ADSR Envelope.
Use the COPY button to copy ALL current modulation settings
(both X-LFO and X-ADSR) into the internal clipboard. Use PASTE
to apply them to another slider parameter. This is very useful to
quickly duplicate modulation settings across a large amount of
slider parameters.
X-ADSR ATTACK SLIDER
For example, if you’ve set up complex X-LFO & X-ADSR setting on the OSC1 Coarse
tune slider and you want to transfer these settings to the OSC2 Coarse tune, simply Definable between 0 and 256 beats (or 0 to 128.00 milliseconds, depending
click on the OSC1 Coarse tune slider followed by the COPY button, then click on the on the status of the Ms/Beats button) this governs the Attack Time of the
OSC2 Coarse tune slider followed by the PASTE button. The settings from the former X-ADSR Envelope. Attack begins once a Note On event is received.
will be duplicated to the latter.

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X-ADSR DECAY SLIDER
Definable between 0 and 256 beats (or 0 to 128.00 milliseconds, depending
on the status of the MS/BEATS button) this governs the Decay Time of the
X-ADSR Envelope, after which the envelope moves to the sustain point.
X-ADSR SUSTAIN SLIDER
With positive and negative values, this controls the level of the X-ADSR’s
sustain level.
X-ADSR SUSTAIN TIME SLIDER
Definable between 0 and 256 beats (or 0 to 128.00 milliseconds,
depending on the status of the Ms/Beats button) this governs the Sustain
Time of the X-ADSR Envelope. i.e. the time it takes for the envelope to
move from the sustain level to the release stage.
X-ADSR RELEASE SLIDER
Definable between 0 and 256 beats (or 0 to 128.00 milliseconds, depending
on the status of the Ms/Beats button) this governs the Release Time of
the X-ADSR. This Release stage occurs as soon as the Note Off event is
detected.
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DELAY
DELAY AMOUNT SLIDER
Controls the level of the delay.
DELAY FEEDBACK SLIDER
Controls the amount of feedback signal output by the delay.
A short feedback time would produce a minimal amount of repeat echoes
and a long feedback time would produce an infinite quantity of repeat
echoes.
DELAY LEFT AND RIGHT SLIDERS
These control the delay times for left and right delays.
 ote: When using a left mouse-click, both sliders are linked and
N
will be set to the same values as each other. A right mouse-click
enables each slider to be set to an independent delay time. For
example by setting a 3/4 beat delay on the left output and a 1
beat delay on the right output, it’s possible to create a larger
stereo image than if both left and right delay times were identical.
Mac users: cmd+click on a Left or Right Delay slider to independently adjust their
times.
Delay & Pan Modes Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgRlmCHn0a0
OUTPUT PAN MODE BUTTON

Oddity2 contains two Pan modes as follows:

i) Normal (white)
 ove the Spread slider upwards to progressively spread the notes across
M
the stereo field. Notes in the bottom octaves below middle C will pan
towards the left and notes above middle C will pan towards the right.
ii) Random (green highlight)
Move the Spread slider upwards to progressively randomise the spread
of notes across the stereo field.
With both Normal and Random modes, when the slider is at the bottom of its travel
all notes will come from the centre of the stereo field.

SPREAD SLIDER (PAN WIDTH)

Affects the pan position in accordance with the selected mode above.

LEVEL SLIDER

This slider increases or decreases the output volume.

NB: It is important to consider gain structure between VCO Levels, VCA
Level and the final global volume level slider in order to avoid peaking within
Oddity2 or in Oddity2 instrument channel within your DAW.

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DEFAULT CCs
MIDI CC Parameter MIDI CC Parameter MIDI CC Parameter

1 PPC LFO Amount 24 VCF Mod 1 Amount 85 Noise Type

2 Mixer Source Level 1 25 Mixer Source 4 86 VCO1 Coarse Tune

3 Mixer Source 2 Level 26 VCF Mod 1 Source 87 VCO2 Coarse Tune

4 Mixer Source 3 Level 27 VCF Mod 2 Source 88 VCO1 Fine Tune

5 Portamento 28 VCF Mod 3 Source 89 VCO2 Fine Tune

7 Output Level 29 Mixer Source 4 Level 90 VCO1 Pulse Width

8 LFO Freq 30 Velocity to VCA 91 VCO2 Pulse Width

9 HPF Cutoff Freq 31 Velocity to VCF Cutoff 102 S/H Lag

11 VCF Mod 3 Amount 71 VCF Resonance 103 S/H Mixer Source 1

S/H Mixer Source 1

12 VCA Gain 72 AR Release 104
Level

13 VCF Mod 2 Amount 73 AR Attack 105 S/H Mixer Source 2

S/H Mixer Source 2

14 VCO1 PW Mod Level 74 VCF Cutoff Frequency 106
Level

15 VCO2 PW Mod Level 75 ADSR Attack 107 Mixer Source 1

16 VCSub Coarse Tune 76 ADSR Decay 108 Mixer Source 2

17 Filter Type 77 ADSR Sustain 109 Mixer Source 3

18 2 Ocatve Switch 78 ADSR Release 110 VCA Level

19 PPC LFO Freq 80 ADSR LFO Repeat 111 VCA Mod Source

20 VCO1 FM1 Level 81 ADSR Auto Repeat 112 A440

21 VCO2 FM1 Level 82 AR LFO Repeat 113 LFO Sync

22 VCO1 FM2 Level 83 VCO2 Sync 114 LFO Trig

23 VCO2 FM2 Level 84 VCSub Fine Tune

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